Currently The Essential Herbie Hancock By Herbie Hancock see related

Try & See the Upside

The Portland Upside, that is!

After quite a bit of blood, sweat and tears, well mostly blood from paper cuts, I finished my article and submitted it to The Portland Upside for consideration.

Drum roll please.

Hard copies of the newspaper will be available on Sunday, July 12th for anyone in the local area, or by mail subscription. However, the July issue is also available on-line here.

There are, as always, amazing articles written to capture slices of living compassionately and cooperatively. These aren't your typical feel-good stories, but you will most assuredly feel good after reading of the commitment made by seemingly ordinary folk to inspire extraordinary things.

Feel free to leave comments at the site for the editors/writers. Share your ideas, thoughts or feedback with them.

As my dear friend Omari would say, "Each one,teach one. Each one, reach one."

My "currently listening" selection works well as a musical backdrop while you read The Portland Upside. Show your support for a community publication with a subscription.

Peace,

Moi

Currently Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment By Steve Harvey see related

The Measure of Success

A friend recommended Steve Harvey's book on relationships to me. I'm a Steve Harvey fan and always thought he had a lot of wisdom and observations to share, so I thought, I'll borrow it from the library. I'm trying to not buy books, since I don't have my own place and will be on the move again soon.

A quick visit to my library's on-line catalogue and I had to tell my friend "I can't believe it!"

I'm used to seeing holds on books I want to borrow, especially if there are only a handful of copies available between all the branches. But here was the thing, there were 141 (one hundred forty-one) holds on 40 (forty) copies. I didn't know which shocked me more - the amount of holds or the amount of copies. I don't live in a place that's very ethnically/culturally diverse, so I was surprised that there were 180+ people who knew of Steve Harvey.

True, folk would know him as a comedian, but to borrow his book from the library really? Then my friend told me that he'd been on Oprah ... it all made sense.

I'm still looking forward to reading it, but I've no idea when that'll be, since I refuse to place m'self on a waiting list that long. There's also a generous borrowing time granted by our library, so it'll be until sometime in the Fall 'til I could get my grubby mitts on it.

I found it on Amazon & will check to see what other stores carry it. I may borrow it from my friend, since I'd really rather not carry another book in my pack, but for Steve - maybe I'll make an exception.

On another note, the 4th of July weekend was nice. I didn't have to work on the 3rd and any time away from the office is a good time. Speakin' of, I've 2 dental appointments this week, the first one tomorrow, but I'll miss a couple of hours from work. I should be really nervous, but I'm just glad that I've less hours to be at work. See what I mean?

Did get to enjoy a bit of the Waterfront Blues Festival in person. Otherwise, I listened to some of it on the radio or on-line.

My "currently reading" selection is what I wish I could read.

Peace,

Moi

Currently United We Stand By Musik Ye Afrika see related

Reach Out & Touch

Yesterday and Saturday were all about touch - physical, mental and emotional. According to various studies, touch is important to human development. I concur.

Saturday

I had a splash of culture and connection. Drove to a Juneteenth "celebration" that was lackluster at best; I was disappointed. So much in fact, I had to call my younger sister to recount my disbelief that there really wasn't a celebration happening at all. It could've been a birthday party in the park, except it didn't look as festive.

On one hand, there was rain on & off and people tend to hibernate when that happens. On the other, the weekend of Juneteenth wasn't a surprise. I heard some of the vendors didn't show & it's the lack of community involvement that speaks volumes about the ills of this city. I'm going to research the contact info. and maybe I can help jumpstart planning for next year's celebration this year. Something has to change - egads, man!

Disappointed and dismayed, I took it as a sign that I was meant to head to one of my fave restaurants, Po'Shines Café de la Soul. On the way there, I stopped in at an Afrikan market. The shelved items were sparse, but there were a couple of items that caught my eye, including a family sized tin of Milo. The owner of the market was friendly. I plan to return to the market and hope to see a bit more inventory; the market's a good and necessary idea.

Afterwards, I headed to Po'Shines where, of course, I received wonderful service and quality food. Po'Shines managed to serve healthy portions and meals that still stuck to the ribs. I also had some of their sorrel drink made on-site. It was a pleasant surprise to find a smoothie bar there as well. The smoothies looked yummy and I was tempted, but it was cold & rainy outside, so I stuck to the sorrel drink.

The staff, as always, were warm in their greeting of every patron who walked into/out of the restaurant. There were smiles a-plenty from staff and diners alike. I ordered the chicken and waffles, but had a hard time deciding which delectable dish I wanted. I sat down to read and enjoyed most of my meal. I had to take half of it with me, because I was full, but the prospect of having that delicious meal later that night made me almost dance out the door.

I headed to GigiBar, one of my fave coffeehouses/hangouts. The owner, Gigi, was there and so was Naomi, a cheerful young woman who makes a mean (read: good) Mexican mocha. Picked up a new, local mag and am still reading it, but so far, so good. It's a well-produced debut issue and I think it will do well. I'll review it in a future post.

As if all of that drinking & grubbing weren't enough, I headed to Ladd's Inn, my fave tavern, for Texas Hold 'Em poker fun and of course, more drink & grub. It was nice to see a bunch of familiar faces and get hugs. I didn't win, but I did have fun and that was almost just as good. Almost.

One of my fellow poker pals is also a creative type, so we were chatting about inspiration, lost muses and creativity after the game, then it was time for karaoke to start. I hadn't had a chance to karaoke there (or anywhere) in quite some time, so I was happy. I karaoked three songs and had a blast. Got hugs from the fun and funny KJ, Crystal, as well as a couple of fellow karaoke geeks. Fun times indeed!

I got home in the wee hours of Sunday am and had to be at Harmony Farms for A Touch of Portland at 10:30 am. I was tired, but excited. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn't expect to have as much fun with touching as I did. That re-cap will follow later.

My "currently listening" selection I discovered from listening to Firefly's program on KBOO.

Peace,

Moi

Currently Nothing's In Vain By Youssou N'Dour see related

Food

Whew, what a nite! The last 3 hours have been the busiest I've had in a while. Interesting conversations though; I learned something from each one.

Food was on my mind as I prepared to post, because I went grocery shopping today. It was my plan to grab some groceries, since I had to pick up my car that I dropped off at the auto shop.

Love the guys at the repair shop. Not only are they a fun & friendly bunch, but they always treat me respectfully and as if I had some knowledge of cars. This time, I took my car in for some minor, routine maintenance and ... that's all it needed - YEEHAW!

The repair cost was under the budgeted amount, which helped since I went over my grocery budget by ~$30. Basically, there were sales on items I actually enjoy (such as turkey meatballs), so I stocked up on things. I'm goin' back to my routine of bringing my lunch to work and eating dinner at home, even if the meals were originally frozen/refrigerated.

I'm honest with myself about my after-work schedule. There's not much time for me to spend in the kitchen. Cooking isn't something I enjoy, so instead, I buy the bits 'n' pieces I want in a meal. I bought an Entenmann's Cheese Crumble Coffee Cake. The last time I had Entenmann's was in April, when I was in NY. That'll be my breakfast. I'm takin' a bag of turkey meatballs & a box o' butternut squash soup for lunch.

I'm all set for the next 2 weeks. Plus, with the extras I purchased, I won't need to use as much of the grocery budget next month. Yea!

I worked out a budget for the next 2 - 3 months, or about 6 - 8 paychecks. I've some short-term debt I want to repay & barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be able to get those squared away by end of October, while saving a wee bit o' dosh.

Of course, if my lodging expenses change, then I'll be able to save even more. I've two trips planned for the rest of the year because, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I love to travel. I'm chipping away at debt, one paycheck at a time and for now, this pace is just fine.

But, the reason I mentioned food & then budget is that I picked up healthy & tasty options at the market. When I'm able to enjoy some yummy nosh, my temperament is much more even.

Tomorrow and Friday evenings will be spent honing my newly acquired skills. I'm still working on the article and hope to grab the ears of 3 or 4 folk. Fingers crossed.

My "currently listening" selection ran through my mind today. There was an issue (or maybe a couple) when I was supposed to see him in concert, so I've yet to see him perform live. I hope that chance presents itself again, soon. To hear even more great music from the Afrikan continent, give a listen on-line to Africa O-Ye! hosted by Firefly.

Peace,

Moi

Currently Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season One By Hurd Hatfield, Alfred Hitchcock, Mildred Natwick, Philip Coolidge, Gladys Hurlbut see related

Goooaal!

I've met a couple of short-term goals on my to-do list, but that's about it. Still, not too bad considering I've quickly had to add things to the list, without removing things from it. Ahh, such is life.

I should have some time, hopefully, to sort out details of a coupla projects. I need to e-mail about three people regarding an article in progress. Once I have their responses, I'll feel much better about wrappin' that up.

Additionally, I used one of my sisters as a sounding board, as well as a close friend and I was able to get some clarity concerning some issues in my recent posts. The "short & skinny" is that I've made some decisions about pre-tax items that will enable me to be in better control and hopefully build a cushion. That'll ease a bit of stress. In the meantime, I will work on honing/developing new skills as I mention in a previous post.

My car's goin' into the shop (again!) for some fairly routine maintenance. The last visit was another heavy-hitter, but at that point, the car was in a "workable" state, so everythin' else from that point forward should be routine. I hope I don't hear differently tomorrow.

The drawback is that I hafta drop it off in the am, before goin' to work. The bus line that I need to take doesn't run very well after 9 pm, which was when I could've dropped it off tonite. Instead, I'm gonna get up way too early, to drop it off & catch a bus to work.

I said/thought it last month, but once again I really hope it'll be a while, before I hafta take it back to the shop. I wish the shop was open on weekends or Saturday, but it ain't. C'est la vie, eh?

This week is crazy & I'm lookin' forward to this weekend's 2 fun events for me:

Juneteenth (had no idea about this bein' here until today & missed it last year).

A Touch of Portland, benefitting KBOO - a community radio station (and the only local one I listen to).

My "currently watching" selection (see what happens when I don't have cable TV?) is what I'm viewing on my lunch break, or listening to durin' the work day. Listening to the episodes makes me realize how solid the writing/acting was, because I don't have to watch the action unfold to feel all of the emotion/excitement.

Peace,

Moi